February 1, 2007

Willing to play any position on the floor for Byron Scott, newcomer Devin Brown is Hornet Henry’s idea of a true team player.

Good evening, Hornets fans! This is Hornet Henry, fan blogger for Hornets.com.

Well folks, despite a bit of a stumble Wednesday night against the Sixers, I’m making it official: Our Hornets are back. The fellas have won seven of their last 11 games, and megastar Chris Paul is back on the court. The world is right again.

Only one week ago, after a crushing loss in Toronto, the naysayers were reading the last rites for the Hornets, saying the time had come to think about lottery ping-pong balls, the 2007 NBA draft and man-child Greg Oden of Ohio State.

Not so fast, my friends.

Sure, Chris Paul has been injured. Yeah, D West was out for more than two months. And we STILL don’t have Peja Stojakovic. Guess what? With apologies to my man Mark Twain – he and I went to grade school together back in the day – rumors of the Hornets’ demise have been greatly exaggerated.

You know what? It would have been easy to fold up the tent, call it a season and say, ‘We don’t have any of our big guns. Let’s get ‘em next year.’ But there was absolutely no quit in this team.

All I can say now is: Look out, Timberwolves. Watch your backs, Clippers. Don’t look over your shoulder Warriors, someone may be gaining on you – and they’re wearing stylish teal and gold uniforms. Hey Western Conference: Objects in your rearview mirror are much closer than they may appear. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

Let’s give credit where credit is due for the Hornets’ resurgence.

Tyson Chandler got the message from Coach Scott about being a more aggressive offensive player, and the numbers speak for themselves. In the last 10 games, Ty Lob is averaging over 10 points and 10 rebounds – a double-double, as the kids say.

Rasual Butler and Desmond Mason were important parts of the Hornets last season, but they have both stepped up their games out of necessity.

And to me, Devin Brown has personified the 06-07 Hornets. After getting cut by the Warriors in preseason, Brown not only earned himself a roster spot with the Hornets – he became the team’s starting point guard, even though he’s hardly ever played that position before in the NBA.

Trust me, if Byron Scott had told Brown he wanted him to start at center and be the league’s only 6-foot-5 pivotman, Brown would’ve said “No problem, Coach” – and immediately started watching game film to prepare for Yao Ming and Shaq. That’s a team player, if you ask me.

Speaking of team players, tune in Friday and listen to Sean Kelley and Gerry V as they call the action when the Hornets host the Timberwolves on the Hornets Radio Network. The pregame “Hornets Warmup” show begins at 6:30 p.m.

And make sure you come back next Thursday for another edition of “Hornets Insider.”

Until next time, this is Hornet Henry. Go Hornets!